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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29050866">You're in My Soul Now</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallonfire/pseuds/itsallonfire'>itsallonfire</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Birthday, F/F, Fluff, One Shot, basically it's lin birthday and kya is the only one who cares, kyalin - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:49:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,168</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29050866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallonfire/pseuds/itsallonfire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lin has grown accustomed to being alone on her birthday, but Kya isn't so dedicated to tradition.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lin Beifong/Kya II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>130</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You're in My Soul Now</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Have some fluff :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lin flipped on the radio when she finally sat down. The sigh of physical relief came involuntarily, and for a second, Lin let herself acknowledge the aged exhaustion that she had brought home from work along with her.</p><p>No, that wasn’t right, she realized -- she hadn’t brought it home. The passing of time didn’t happen to reside in her office or any corridor at work, it was built into her body now. Into her soul, even, if she let herself think about it enough. </p><p>Aiding the thought with a sip of her after-work drink, Lin glanced at her calendar. It was the one Su had given her as a Solstice gift, the one with lovely minimalistic paintings of different popular Earth Kingdom locations. The image present for the current month was a green-and-blue landscape of the shores near Kyoshi Island. Yellow streaks highlighted grey sand.</p><p><em> Figures, </em>Lin thought. A perfect illustration to accompany a birthday.</p><p>As much as she didn’t want to feel sorry for herself -- such a weak way to be -- the date on the calendar and its little curving lines worked its way into her head. For a moment, Lin cursed her own mother for birthing her, for doing it on a linear timeline that meant Lin had to remember this date every year. She had to think about it. She had to know that other people were <em> meant </em>to acknowledge it.</p><p>Looking over at the phone, Lin naturally ran through a list of names. Tenzin was still on a retreat at the Southern Air Temple and Bumi was with him. Su was in the middle of a crucial construction project back in Zaofu. Pema had one too many hands full with the kids. Saikhan was covering night shifts. </p><p>The radio was too loud. Lin shut it off and leaned her elbows forward on her knees, fighting and fighting and fighting the damned burning behind her eyes. </p><p>
  <em> Stop it. It doesn’t matter. </em>
</p><p>It did -- clearly -- but Lin refused to let herself believe that she could be hurt by some loneliness on a birthday. <em> Just another day. Who cares about just another day. </em></p><p>But she could vividly recall the memories she had of such things. Making Su a pretty silver bracelet when she turned eleven. Bringing a lovely painting of the Western Air Temple to Opal on her twentieth birthday. Setting up a party for Tenzin, years and years ago. Lin couldn’t remember the last time someone had done such a thing for her. </p><p>The thought would have easily brought her to tears if a sudden noise hadn’t jolted her out her neuroses, alarming enough that she almost dropped her glass.</p><p>Looking at the front door, Lin worried for a moment it might be Saikhan, coming to dump off another load of paperwork. The knock was too gentle, though -- Mako, perhaps?</p><p>Lin begrudgingly stood and swallowed back down any previous emotion. Her eyes widened when she saw who stood in the doorway. </p><p>“Hey.” As if some figment of Lin’s imagination, Kya’s voice was energetic and her eyes wrinkled with a natural smile. “Happy birthday! Can I come in?”</p><p>“Um, I -- sure, I guess.” Lin moved herself out of the way and held open the door as Kya entered. The waterbender held a ceramic dish under her arm. “What brings you here? It’s pretty late.”</p><p>Kya set the dish on the stone counter with a sturdy thudding sound. “I knew you didn’t get off work until later.”</p><p>Lin blinked. “Do you need anything?”</p><p>Looking rather puzzled, Kya furrowed her brow and crossed her arms. The satin hem of her dress swayed around her calves and Lin noted that Kya’s summer clothes very nicely revealed her legs and shoulders.</p><p>“I wanted to bring you dinner, Lin,” said Kya sweetly. Her smile seemed to almost sparkle in the harsh kitchen light. “I called Korra, she said she didn’t think you were doing anything tonight.”</p><p>Lin stared, dumbfounded, not sure she was processing Kya’s words. <em> Why? </em></p><p>A minor panic fell over Kya’s face and she hurriedly tucked her hair behind her ear. “Shit, I’m sorry, I should have called before I came. If you have something else going on, I can leave, I’m --”</p><p>“No,” interrupted Lin, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “I’m not doing anything else. I was just -- I was confused as to why you came.”</p><p>“Because it’s your birthday, honey.” Kya’s head swayed back and forth as well. Silver hair fell into her face again, almost obscuring her eyes. “I don’t want you to spend it all alone.”</p><p>Lin’s eyes fell to the floor. “Oh.”</p><p>Sighing, Kya dropped her arms to her sides and gestured at the dish on the counter. The lid was adorned with little painted purple fish. “I made that fire noodle recipe. The one you liked the last time we visited Izumi, remember?”</p><p>Lin bit her lip hard for a second, feeling the tears from earlier rising in her throat, and she coughed to banish them away again. “Yeah. I can’t believe you remembered.”</p><p>Kya crossed the kitchen to retrieve two bowls from the cabinet before lifting the lid with the fish. Silver steam rose up into the air. “I wrote to Izumi a couple of months ago asking for the recipe. I remembered you kept talking about it for days after we left. I haven’t been in town this time of year in so long, I thought it might be nice to bring you some.”</p><p>A tiny smile managed to invade Lin’s face. She was sure some of those tears were glimmering in her eyes. “It’s very nice, Kya. Thank you.” No combination of words felt like enough at the moment. </p><p>It was plenty, though, to see Kya smile as she filled a bowl with noodles and handed it to Lin. “Of course. Everyone should have a friend bring them good food on their birthday, you deserve it.”</p><p>The bowl was warm in Lin’s palm and she felt it deeply for a moment, wondering when the last birthday was that she had felt something so pleasant, physical or not. A second later, the bowl found itself back on the counter and Lin’s arms wrapped themselves firmly around Kya’s waist. Her cheek fell on Kya’s shoulder.</p><p>“Lin?” Kya dropped an arm around Lin as well, regardless of the mild confusion in her voice.</p><p>“It’s so nice of you to come,” Lim murmured, finally letting her voice choke up. “It’s so good to see you.”</p><p>Kya sighed contentedly and set down her own bowl to return Lin’s hug properly. “It’s lovely to see you, Lin. I know you don’t like to think about celebrating yourself, so I’m happy to help you with it.”</p><p>Lin nodded. She savored the hug for a while longer, appreciating the peaceful sensation of a loving body against her own. Something about Kya felt brightly warm and wonderfully cool at the same time.</p><p>“Come on,” said Kya, pressing a too-quick kiss to Lin’s cheek. “Let’s eat, before it gets cold.”<br/><br/></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed this! Feel some kudos or a comment if you feel so inclined :) Stay safe!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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